How to Responsibly Use AI-Powered HR Tools

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2023 and has since been updated to include current legal requirements, AI job-search trends and expert perspectives on maintaining human oversight on automated recruitment workflows.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming standard in hiring, but for job seekers, that raises the stakes. In an Indeed survey with The Harris Poll,¹ 93% of hiring managers say AI screening drives more efficient hiring. However, 80% of job seekers worry that algorithmic keyword checks will wrongly overlook their qualifications, and 61% trust human evaluation over software to assess their skills. 

Forward-thinking enterprise TA teams are using automation to solve this candidate disconnect directly, with over half leveraging AI tools specifically to reclaim time for more meaningful candidate conversations.

“AI in hiring has gone far beyond drafting job posts or summarizing resumes,” says Hannah Calhoon, vice president of AI at Indeed. “The breakthrough is using it to give recruiters the space to actually connect with people again.”

Here are four steps your organization could take to help identify risks and work toward making sure your use of AI in streamlining hiring workflows helps support fair, ethical and effective use.

1. Navigating risk when deciding how to streamline hiring with AI

First, ask if AI tools are a good fit for your company when it comes to HR. AI systems can scale up processes, such as identifying and scoring many more job candidates than could be processed manually. 

However, “You can also scale up mistakes and errors, as no system is perfect,” says Jey Kumarasamy, an associate at Luminos.Law, a law firm focused on AI. “Even if you have 90% accuracy, which is being generous, if you are processing thousands of applications, there’s going to be a sizable number of applications that were assessed incorrectly.” 

The starting point for evaluating AI-powered HR tools should be an understanding that the tools are imperfect. “Any time you introduce AI into hiring, you have to be thoughtful about where risk can enter the system,” Calhoon says. “Responsible use requires strong guardrails from the beginning. Humans should always be the final decision-makers when it comes to hiring decisions, and they should be reviewing any AI outputs along the hiring journey to check for consistency and quality.”

While some companies accept the risk as a tradeoff for the productivity boost, others may feel that the potential margin of error compromises their values or creates too much complexity in the face of increased regulatory pressures. 

Ultimately, AI should help augment and improve human processes, not replace them. Before adopting AI tools, ensure your HR team is sufficiently staffed so humans can review every step of any process AI automates. Leave critical HR matters to people, such as final hiring decisions, promotions and employee support. Luckily, if AI tackles the mundane tasks, HR professionals will have much more time and flexibility for those duties.

2. How to evaluate AI recruitment automation tools

Now that you’ve decided your organization’s use case for AI, it’s a matter of choosing which tools, platforms or vendors could be right for your team. When researching, consider these questions:

• Are there testing metrics available for you to review as a prospective client?
• Do the vendors provide post-deployment services to help train your employees in configuring and maintaining the system?
• Are they compliant with current and emerging regulations? “In a high-stakes workflow, you want partners who understand the compliance environment and have designed their product with that reality in mind,” Calhoon says.
• Has the vendor already published independent compliance and impact disclosures?
• Does the platform feature native reporting tools to help you monitor candidate outcomes?

3. Complying with evolving legislation on AI in hiring

Adopting automated HR tools means navigating evolving legal and regulatory stipulations. Lawmakers worldwide are establishing structured frameworks to ensure transparency, accountability and candidate protection.

In the European Union, the AI Act categorizes workforce tools — such as resume and CV processing systems — as "high-risk" applications, subjecting them to strict compliance, data governance and ongoing operational standards.

In the U.S., several different state and municipal laws focus heavily on candidate disclosure and impact verification. For example:

• New York City: Mandates independent compliance audits for automated employment-decision tools and requires employers to publish audit summaries prior to deployment. Candidates may also request information regarding how technology evaluates their application data.
• Colorado: Requires employers to conduct proactive impact assessments on automated hiring systems and guarantees candidates the option to request a human review.
• Illinois: Requires organizations to provide clear advance disclosure to job seekers whenever automated technology is used during the application process.

Beyond specialized legislation, foundational labor standards — including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — apply directly to all technology-assisted hiring actions.

“There is a misconception that if a law doesn’t directly address AI systems, it doesn’t affect an AI system,” Kumarasamy says. “That’s not true, especially when we’re talking about employment.”  Employers remain fully responsible for compliance with labor standards, regardless of the tool.

Balancing automated hiring efficiency with strong AI governance

A key way to prepare for emerging regulatory requirements and help ensure that your AI is operating effectively and equitably is to build out a larger AI governance program. 

Governance systems document the organization’s principles with respect to AI and create processes for continually assessing tools, detecting issues and rectifying any problems. For example, Indeed has developed and publicly published its own principles for the ethical and beneficial use of AI at the company. Indeed has also created a cross-functional AI Ethics team that builds tools, systems and processes to help ensure that technology is used responsibly. 

Even with safeguards, the new generation of AI tools is complex and fallible. 

However, putting in the effort to use them responsibly opens the door to building better processes. AI can help humans improve efficiency and better manage potential bias, but only if humans provide the necessary oversight. For example, we have opportunities to think critically about the parameters an AI algorithm should consider for job qualification, meaningfully improving how candidates are evaluated. 

“Too often, we rely on proxies like degrees, job titles or brand-name employers instead of asking what skills someone actually needs to succeed in the role,” Calhoon says. Skills-first hiring could offer a more balanced assessment of ability rather than relying on school or company names — something that AI can be tuned into in a way humans might not be. “If we use these tools thoughtfully, there’s real potential to widen access and help more qualified candidates get seen,” she says.

¹This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of Indeed from December 29 – January  7, 2026, among 1,037 U.S. adults ages 18 and older who have looked for a job within the past 5 years and 214 hiring managers in companies with 1,000+ employees.

Indeed provides this information as a courtesy to users of this site. Please note that we are not your recruiting or legal advisor, we are not responsible for the content of your job descriptions, and none of the information provided herein guarantees performance.

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